Mirrored heavens

Review by Booklist Review

Political intrigue, a war between god-touched avatars, and grand machinations both magical and mundane provide the epic sweep of Roanhorse's finale to her Between Earth and Sky trilogy (Black Sun, 2020; Fevered Star, 2022). Serapio, the Crow God Reborn, strives to consolidate his hold on Tova, a city caught in a permanent eclipse. His enemies conspire to bring him down with military might and blood magic. Meanwhile, Naranpa, sun priest in exile, learns the ancient art of dreamwalking while struggling to find her own way to protect Tova. And Xiala, Teek sea captain and heir to the throne, finds her people threatened by natural misfortune and an unscrupulous lord who wishes to start her empire by conquering the islands. These characters' threads, and many more, are woven together masterfully to form a rich tapestry of betrayal, victory, love, and loss. The ending is not a neat bow; rather than frustrating the reader, though, it creates the sense that we've peeked in on the momentous events of another world that will continue once we look away. Fans of densely layered fantasy like Samantha Shannon's The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019) or N. K. Jemisin's Inheritance trilogy should delve into these novels for the pre-Columbian Americas-inspired world and fascinating characters.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Bestseller Roanhorse is in top form in the satisfying conclusion to her Between Earth and Sky epic fantasy trilogy (after 2022's Fevered Star). The future of Serapio, the newly ascendant Carrion King, hinges on comprehending a cryptic prophecy conveyed by Zataya of the Coyote Clan, a witch who reads astronomical portents as signifying that "something terrible" is coming for the people of the land called the Meridian. She tells Serapio that he faces "three wars to lose, three wars to win," but that in achieving victory, he will sacrifice everything. Serapio believes some of the message is clear enough for him to take action, but his plans to fulfill the prophecy without losing all he holds dear face numerous challenges. Other characters, including Xiala, a sea captain belonging to a community that lives on floating islands and has mostly lost its ability to perform magic through singing, are equally three-dimensional, and Roanhorse weaves the myriad plot threads together seamlessly, building to an epic climax. It's a worthy finale to a blockbuster series. (June)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

Serapio has been crowned the Carrion King in Tova. The avatar of the Crow God Reborn knows that he has enemies, some even closer than believed, as the clan matrons scheme to take back their power. Another god's prophecy puts Serapio on a path of death--for others and possibly for himself. Xiala is back in Teek, the island she left, as invaders take control of the people and their magic. For Xiala to claim her power, she will have to sacrifice that which she holds dear. The Sun God's avatar, Naranpa, is in the northern wastelands looking for a way to save Tova from the fiery fate she dreams about, while the Jaguar God stalks her in body and in her nightmares. No one will come out of the final battles unscathed. VERDICT Roanhorse's world of the Meridian (last seen in the series entry Fevered Star) is a powerful tale of gods, power, and the way people seek to claim both. The exquisite storytelling doesn't release readers until the final page is turned.--Kristi Chadwick

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Serapio's newly won rule over the city of Tova is threatened from all sides in the third installment of Roanhorse's Between Earth and Sky trilogy. Serapio, now the Carrion King, has triumphed over Tova. As he's an avatar of the crow god, his new kingdom is engulfed in a permanent eclipse. But his fight isn't over yet. The powerful clan matrons conspire to assassinate him, and outside of Tova, the bloodthirsty Lord Balam is gathering a terrible force to destroy him. When a strange old woman tells Serapio that the coyote god has a prophecy that will show him how to defeat his enemies, Serapio is eager to hear it. But the prophecy is contradictory and confusing and finishes with the promise that "in winning he would lose everything." Meanwhile, Xiala is home on the mysterious, matriarchal island nation of Teek. As she struggles to channel her strange ocean powers, Teek is invaded by Lord Tuun, who wants to force the women of Teek to build a navy for Balam's war against Serapio. Xiala must find a way to outsmart Tuun, save what remains of her homeland, and make it back to Tova to find Serapio before Balam's forces overtake him. Even as Roanhorse brings her epic story to a close, there are no simple answers here. Serapio is both a victim of the plot that bound him to the crow god without his consent and a brutal strategist when it comes to furthering his goals. Everyone from the goodhearted Xiala to the villainous Balam must contend with sacrificing pieces of themselves--and the lives of others--to achieve their ends. Roanhorse's fans won't be surprised to hear that she's crafted a complex, suspenseful, and ultimately satisfying ending to her masterful trilogy. A strong ending and a new classic of the fantasy genre. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1 CITY OF TOVA YEAR 1 OF THE CROW On earth, in heaven, and within, Three wars to lose, three wars to win. Cut the path. Mark the days. Turn the tides. Three tasks before the season dies: Turn rotten fruit to flower, Slay the god-bride still unloved, Press the son to fell the sire. Victory then to the Carrion King who in winning loses everything. --Coyote song Zataya of the Coyote clan was no tower-trained Watcher casting fortunes and charting star maps, no birthright sorcerer from the southern cities dispensing futures gleaned from dark mirrors painted with blood, but she knew enough to read the portents around her, and they told her that something terrible was coming. First there was the eclipse that lingered over the city since the new year solstice, an impossible thing made real by the crow god's magic. Then there was the tailing comet that had blazed across the twilight sky last month when the Odo Sedoh ascended his throne upon Shadow Rock to break the matrons and rule the city. And now the seasons turned, again, and the constellations of the lesser gods burst to life upon the sky's inky canvas: jaguar and kraken, serpent and spear. And she understood. The war on earth may have yet to start as the gods claimed their vessels and set their stakes, but the war in heaven had already begun. For what was earth but a mirror of heaven? And what was she but a thing caught in between? But Zataya would not be idle. She would not wait to be devoured by avatars and armies. She would find a way to survive. And why not? Her god was a sly god, a god of narrow spaces and narrower paths. He made his own way and did not wait for others to clear it for him. So she would do the same. When she had augured the future before, she had used southern sorcery, blood on a dark mirror that revealed the shadow world to those who sought it. But now she wished to walk with Coyote, and his communion manifested in natural things. Rock and flame, leaf and root. She had been living in a small room in the matron of Coyote clan's house and serving as her Shield captain, a title that allowed her to counsel and observe. But for this, she wanted no witnesses. The Lupine stood abandoned after Denaochi's death, its gambling tables and drinking cups left to entertain ghosts. That is where she went. Her old room was still there with all of her tools, and she knew no one would disturb her delicate work. She set the fire in the hearth and stoked it until it burned steadily. Once the logs had diminished to glowing lumps of char, she used a flint spade to rake the largest onto the floor. Tradition told her that the answer to her question lay within the heated charcoal, so she set her resolve and asked, "How do I survive the war that is in heaven, and the war to come on earth?" Unhesitating, she struck the lump with the edge of the spade. It cracked into smoldering pieces of black and orange and red. She used a stick to poke around the heated mass, looking for what message the Coyote might send her. And gasped. A crow. She saw a crow. "No," she breathed, shaking her head. That could not be right. Surely the Coyote did not mean to bind her fate to the Crow God Reborn. Frustrated, she swept the pieces away and lifted another charred lump from the fire. Again, she asked her question, split it open, and again the pieces formed a crow. With a growl of despair she tried one more time, only to receive the same result. Perhaps the fire was not the answer. She went to her cabinets, still intact even after months of abandonment, and searched for the tiny herb that would surely give her a clearer vision. She found it, a crush of dried cactus flower they called Coyote's Paw. It was a powerful medicine known to cause visions, and she swallowed it down. And then she waited. It did not take long. She had expected to see things, but instead she heard a voice. It spoke to her in echoing whispers, a sound that seemed everywhere and nowhere at once. Inside and outside. Above and below. She knew it was the voice of her god, the Coyote's own song, and she repeated the words with a fervor, letting her lips form to their shape and her tongue learn their weight, knowing that this was the path to survival. She was not sure how long she sat there muttering the same words over and over again, but when she came back to herself, her entire being resonated with them. Only they made no sense. She had memorized a riddle. She should have known the Coyote's currency would not be so straightforward. It was the chilling hearth that reminded her that too much time had passed and soon her matron would notice her absence, and that would raise questions, and there were things Zataya did not wish to share with anyone. She shoveled dirt into the hearth and put away her auguring tools, pausing to tidy her room. And there, cooled to shades of black and gray but still plainly visible, was the crow. At the thought of the crow, the Coyote song that lay behind her teeth trembled her jaw and burst from her mouth. She found herself repeating the riddle, a whisper under her breath that would not cease. She slapped her hand over her mouth, and the song became a shout. She stumbled to the wall and slammed her head against the stones. Stars danced in her eyes, and she swayed at the pain, but still the words came like a bubbling froth. Desperate, terrified, she slammed her head into the wall again. And then again and again until her vision shuttered, and her mind went dark. She collapsed to the floor, unconscious... her lips still moving. Excerpted from Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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